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Darwin to Sydney Roadtrip – Day 2

Didn’t get much sleep between the flock of guinea fowl roosting in a nearby tree and the roadtrains – just as I’d be drifting off, one would roar past and when I did finally get to sleep one made me think a plane was landing on the tent and woke me up with a fright.

I made breakfast in the camp kitchen and checked out the aviaries of native birds while I was there. The squirrel gliders,so active last night, were asleep in their cage.

9.15 We left Larrimah.
10.15 Passed the Daly Waters turnoff (T/O).
10.20 Daly Waters Hi Way Inn, Borroloola and Carpentaria Highway T/O
10.40 Went through Top Springs and the Buchanan Highway T/O.
10.45 Checked out Dunmarra – diesel $1.73 a litre; neat, shady campsites.
11.40 Stopped at Elliott for lunch – 2 hotdogs with the lot @ $8.50 – and fuel: 20 L @ $1.70 – $38.56.
12.25 Left Elliott and 2 minutes later passed the Barkly Stock Route T/O and a sign ‘NO FUEL 500 km’.
13.15 Passed Renner Springs: 17 m pool, cabins and a caravan park.
13.50 Banka Banka Station also has a park and a WWII site.
14.10 Attack Creek is a rest stop with toilets, water and a barbecue.
14.34 The John Flynn Memorial; Threeways Roadhouse and Barkly Homestead T/O
14.40 We turned off for Kunjarra or the Pebbles, did the short walk and saw a flock of zebra finches. Not as impressive as the Devil’s Marbles but not so many flies either!
15.10 Left there and drove to the Tennant Creek Telegraph Station, just across the highway, a beautiful historic site.
15.55 Got to Tennant Creek, went to Foodstore, then fuelled up at United: 65 L @ $1.51 less 6 cents a litre AANT discount – $98.48; Odometer reading: 59983 km – 1021 km from start.
16.30 Checked into the Outback Caravan Park $30; big camp kitchen with microwave, toaster, jug, 2-ring cooker, barbecue and 2 fridge freezers; 2 showers and 3 toilets male and female, clean with hot water.
Set up camp then cooked dinner in the camp kitchen – burritos, using the new frying pan – worked beautifully. Enjoyed sitting out under the Southern Cross afterwards recalling what we’d seen on the road today:
roadtrains that let you know when it’s safe to pass by flashing their right indicator; wedge-tailed eagles we disturbed eating carrion on the side of the road; walkers pushing carts but we couldn’t see what for.
The wind got up during the night and it felt as if we were going to get blown off the back of the ute.